Celebrity Scoop – Super Bowl Edition – 02/05/2018

The Philadelphia Eagles upset the New England Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl 52 last night (February 4th), with quarterback and game MVP Nick Foles leading them to their first-ever Super Bowl win, as they denied the Patriots back-to-back championships and what would have been their third title in four years. The two teams battled in a record-setting offensive contest at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis , with a combined 1,151 yards that was the most in any modern NFL game.

The Eagles and Patriots each got a field goal in the first quarter and Philly added a touchdown and then another in the second quarter before New England put a touchdown up on the board with just over two-minutes left in the half, after earlier getting another field goal. The final score of the first half came on a trick play by the Eagles that had tight end Trey Burton — a former Florida quarterback — throw a touchdown pass to Foles. The play, which made Foles the first player in Super Bowl history to be on both ends of a touchdown pass, came after the Patriots had tried a trick play of their own early in the second quarter, but quarterback Tom Brady wasn’t able to catch receiver Danny Amendola‘s high pass. The game went to halftime with Philadelphia up 22-12.

New England scored first it the second half with a touchdown, the Eagles answered with their own touchdown, and then the Patriots scored again, sending the teams to the fourth quarter with Philly up 29-26. The Eagles got a field goal early in the fourth, but then the Patriots scored a touchdown to go ahead 33-32 in what was their first lead of the game. Seven minutes later, with 2:21 left, the Eagles re-took the lead on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ertz that survived a video replay after being reviewed because the ball popped in the air as Ertz crossed the goal line. The Patriots still had plenty of time for one of their patented Brady-led comebacks, but then Brady was stunningly strip-sacked by Brandon Graham and Derek Barnett recovered the ball with just 2:09 left. That set up a 46-yard field goal by rookie Jake Elliott to give the Eagles an eight-point lead with 1:05 to go. Brady managed to get the Patriots back to midfield, but ran out of time, and the game ended on an incomplete Hail Mary pass attempt to Rob Gronkowski as time ran out.

Foles, who took over as quarterback after Carson Wentz injured his knee in mid-December, finished 28 of 43 for 373 yards and three touchdowns. Brady threw for a record 505 yards, the most in any playoff contest, and also had three TDs.

There were some unexpected kicking misses. Both the Eagles’ Jake Elliott and the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski missed an extra point after a touchdown, and Gostkowski also blew a 26-yard field goal.

Although this was the Eagles’ first Super Bowl win, it wasn’t their first NFL championship. They last won the NFL title in 1960, and also won in 1948 and 1949. (The first Super Bowl was in January 1967.)

No players knelt or sat during the National Anthem.

MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT

Hamilton Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. set the tempo right with his rousing performance of “America the Beautiful” to kick off the game. Backed by young choir members from St. Paul, Minnesota, Odom glided through his rendition with flawless precision. Alongside Odom Jr., P!nk handled “The Star-Spangled Banner” despite being struck with the flu. She just had to make sure to take out her cough drop first. The singer, a diehard Eagles fan who grew up in the Philadelphia area, belted out a lifting rendition of the national anthem. P!nk responded after people questioned what she spit out of her mouth before her performance, thinking it was gum. She tweeted: “It was a throat lozenge.” P!nk also responded to a hater who said she “sucks.” She said, “Yeah but at least I suck while singing our countries national anthem, and you just suck by yourself on a dirty couch. #winning.”

THE HALFTIME SHOW

Justin Timberlake headlined the halftime performance, delivering a high-energy medley of his classic hits, including “Cry Me A River,” and “Mirrors,” along with newer songs like “Can’t Stop The Feeling” and “Filthy,” which is off his newly released Man of the Woods album.

He opened the 13-minute set flanked by laser lights and dancing with fans backstage. Timberlake danced onto the field for “Suit & Tie” and a medley of slow jams, which featured him playing the piano for “Until the End of Time.” Since the show was in Minneapolis, Timberlake also sang Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” in front of a projection of Prince as a pseudo-duet. An overhead shot showed the arena was covered in purple lighting that morphed into Prince’s trademark symbol in a touching tribute.

Timberlake then delivered a handclap-buoyed “Mirrors” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” which included the singer scaling stairs in the venue to greet the audience. Dancers dressed in colorful outfits kept the energy up on the field, concluding the halftime.

Timberlake’s set marked his record-setting third time playing the Super Bowl, following appearances at Super Bowls XXXV and XXXVII. The latter performance, in 2004, became infamous when Janet Jackson joined the singer onstage and Timberlake, during a rendition of “Rock Your Body,” reached and pulled off a piece of Jackson’s bustier, exposing her breast.

One of the best moments was when one lucky kid got a couple of selfies with Timberlake at the end of the performance. The young man has been deemed “Selfie Kid” online and he has shared his photo. Selfie Kid got to dance with Justin, take a selfie with him, and will also appear on Good MorningAmerica today. “Super Bowl selfies,” Justin said after the pictures were taken.

Timberlake wore clothing by top British designer Stella McCartney – daughter of former Beatle Paul McCartney – a jacket made out of a leather substitute called Alter Nappa, along with a shirt that features a landscape artwork by British artist Martin Ridley. Also part of the look: a glen plaid and camouflage splatter-print trouser and matching jacket. The outfits are made of organic cotton and repurposed wool.

Timberlake’s performance drew mixed reaction across the Twitterverse, but there’s no denying that Prince fans weren’t too happy with JT’s tribute to the iconic Minneapolis musician, who died in 2016. After Sheila E, a close Prince friend, tweeted that Timberlake assured her there would be no Prince hologram in his show, many expressed relief on social media. But Prince fans DID not like the tribute, with one tweeting: “The Prince tribute would’ve been cool… except Prince specifically said he didn’t want that, right? Even in death, Prince continues to be misunderstood.” Meanwhile others complained about the audio quality.

When P!nk, the Super Bowl national anthem performer, learned that the Eagles would be playing in the big game this year, she couldn’t believe her good fortune. Then, the Philadelphia native had some bad luck. On Saturday, she posted on Instagram that she was struggling with the flu. “I’ve been waiting to sing this song since 1991 when I saw my idol, Whitney Houston, own this song. And now, my chance has finally come,” she wrote. “And it just so happens that this chance comes when I have two small Petri dish kids who literally cough INTO MY MOUTH and rub their snot on my cheek. You can’t write this stuff I swear!”

P!nk powered through a pre-Super Bowl concert, hitting high notes, flying in the air and dancing onstage days before she sang the national anthem at the big game. P!nk skipped some of the words during the songs, relying on her backup singers Friday at Nomadic Live at the Armory in Minneapolis. But she was still energetic and spirited, ending the set with her signature high-flying athleticism while singing the pounding hit, “So What.”

KYLIE JENNER GIVES BIRTH TO BABY GIRL – (02/05/2018)

Kylie Jenner has welcomed a healthy baby girl after months of secrecy and speculation. The 20-year-old beauty mogul shared the news on Instagram.

“I’m sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions,” wrote Jenner. “I understand you’re used to me bringing you along on all my journeys. My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world.”

Continued Jenner, “I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free, and healthy way I knew how. There was no gotcha moment, no big paid reveal I had planned. I knew my baby would feel every stress and every emotion so I chose to do it this way for my little life and our happiness.”

“Pregnancy has been the most beautiful, empowering, and life changing experience I’ve had in my entire life and I’m actually going to miss it,” she said. “I appreciate my friends and especially my family for helping me make this special moment as private as we could. My beautiful and healthy baby girl arrived February 1st and I just couldn’t wait to share this blessing. I’ve never felt love and happiness like this I could burst! Thank you for understanding.”

Her little girl is Jenner’s first child, and also a first child for her boyfriend and the father Travis Scott. She weighed in at 8 lbs., 9 oz. and arrived at 4:43 p.m. local time on February 1st.

She also shared a montage of videos from her pregnancy, including a shot of her and the baby shortly after delivery.